2011 Toyota Tundra Review
The 2011 Toyota Tundra is a great all-around truck, but it’s easily trumped when it comes to looks, performance, fuel economy and standard features.
Most reviewers say the 2011 Toyota Tundra is practical and meets expectations. The Dodge Ram offers more aggressive exterior styling and better performance, all for $20,610, almost $3,000 less than the Toyota Tundra. Fuel economy, however, isn’t best in class. The two-wheel drive Ram only gets 14/20 mpg city/highway.
Toyota has given the Tundra a few updates for the 2011 model year. Toyota also added more standard safety features: brake override technology and trailer-sway control. The Tundra is available in Regular, Double and CrewMax models.
The full-size Toyota Tundra pickup truck roared onto the automotive scene for the 2000 model year, and immediately carved out a niche in a segment perennially dominated by American automakers. While two-wheel drive comes standard, four-wheel drive is available on the bigger engines. The Tundra again comes in a choice of three engines, 2-wheel or 4-wheel drive, 5-speed or 6-speed automatic transmission, and it comes in regular cab, Double Cab (5.5 ft bed), or CrewMax (6.5 or 8 ft bed). Toyota does not sell manual transmissions on the Tundra, so it is not even available as an option.
When equipped with the most powerful engine - the 5.7-liter V8 - the Tundra has a towing capacity of 10,800 pounds. Power is where the 2011 Toyota Tundra truly shines. Four-wheel drive is also available for the larger engines.
The standard Tundra engine for 2011 is a 4.0-liter V6 that delivers 236 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque paired to a 5-speed automatic transmission. On a properly equipped Tundra, the 5.7 can tow up to 10,800 pounds.
The 2011 Toyota Tundra manages to offer exceptional power and rugged capabilities with a surprisingly refined cabin. As with previous models, cubbies and pockets abound in the 2011 Tundra.
Standard safety features on the 2011 Toyota Tundra are front-seat side and knee airbags, full-length side curtain airbags, anti-lock disc brakes, stability control, and traction control. Crash testing of the new Tundra had not taken place at the time of this writing, but historically, the second-generation Tundra has performed exceptionally well in government safety testing.
The 2011 Toyota Tundra drops 10 slow-selling variations, boosts the power of its V-6 engine, and adds trailer-sway control. The 2011 Tundra is a solid truck with lots of appealing features.
Should you wait for the 2012 Toyota Tundra or buy a 2011 Toyota Tundra? Buy a 2011 Tundra. The 2011 Toyota Tundra styling is unaltered except for some new exterior colors. The 2011 Tundra regular-cab has two doors. The Tundra Double Cab is an extended-cab with a pair of small rear doors. Both these cabs come with a 6.5-foot or 8.1-foot cargo bed. The 2011 Tundra lineup continues with two official model designations, base (which Toyota calls “Tundra Grade”) and top-line Limited.
Seventy percent of Tundra buyers, however, pick the 5.7-liter V-8. Tundra’s V-6 teams only with a five-speed automatic transmission and two-wheel drive. Tundra still does not offer a factory integrated trailer-braking system, however. All 2011 Tundras have an electronic brake-override system designed to prevent unintended-acceleration. Those versatile cargo-bed boxes would give the Tundra even more storage options for cargo.
2/8/11
2011 Toyota Tundra
